


Carousel

by royallystolen



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25646740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/royallystolen/pseuds/royallystolen
Summary: - wherein their relationship is like a carousel. It never stops turning and spinning with their everyday fights over petty things but at the same time, they can't get off. Will they stay or force it to stop?
Relationships: Chou Tzuyu/Son Chaeyoung, Im Nayeon/Minatozaki Sana, Kim Dahyun/Minatozaki Sana
Comments: 1
Kudos: 36





	Carousel

The sky was silent and dark with millions of stars twinkling brightly above those people who were trying to take a rest after a whole tiring day. The night may be empty, but it was calming in every aspect.

Except for the two people in Chou’s residence.

“You chew like a mad dog!” Tzuyu pointed her fingers at Chaeyoung who was trying to eat her snack in silence, since both of them didn’t talk after their nth fight. For some reasons, hearing Chaeyoung chew makes her blood boil.

The short black haired girl slowly looked at her. It wasn’t the first time someone told her she chew so loud—heck, her Jihyo unnie tells her that all the time—but when it comes from Tzuyu, at a time like this, it hits her differently. She yelled. “Then cover your ears!”

“Don’t tell me what to do. Don’t even talk to me. You’re annoying as hell!” The taller girl crossed her arms in her chest and looked at Chaeyoung with disgust and irritation.

“As if I wanted to talk to you?!” Chaeyoung blurted out before both of them turning their backs on each other.

Furrowed eyebrows. Arms crossed in their chests. Lips formed into a frown. Enraged eyes. Insulting words here and there.

If it was visible to the eye, a steam can be seen circulating the both of them after exchanging heated conversations. They shut up for a while, but Tzuyu knew if it was a contest of not talking for at least an hour, she will win. Chaeyoung cannot simply endure silence between them most of the time.

“What the hell!” Tzuyu smirked because she knew she was right. She averted her gaze when she heard Chaeyoung slapped the wall behind her. “I can’t stand you anymore! You’re... unbearable.”

She sarcastically laughed at her sudden—but wasn’t first—outburst this time. Unbelievably, she kept her cool in front of fuming mad Chaeyoung. “Newsflash: I can’t tolerate you anymore as well. I don’t even know why we’re still together.”

Chaeyoung ignored her remark. “Come to think of it. You’re not that pretty. Straight brown hair doesn’t really suit you. Are you scared of trying a different hairstyle? Ultimately, you look like a giant. And please,” she breathed, as if getting ready to let out her hidden weapon. “Get rid of that stupid miniskirt of yours!”

“How dare you?!” Tzuyu stomped her foot on the hardwood floor to stand up with her mouth hanging open, surprised at what Chaeyoung told her. She must have known it was her favourite but still asked—no, more like commanded her—to get rid of it. “You talk shit about my miniskirt as if your faded and worn out shirt doesn’t look like a garbage bag!”

For the nth time, Chaeyoung was surprised with Tzuyu’s choice of words. Yes, Tzuyu could be pretty savage and blunt most of the time, but the shirt she was talking about was given by her Jeongyeon unnie on her 18th birthday. It was somehow special.

She took as glance on her black loose shirt. The red and yellow imprints on them are starting to fall out. The color is fading and she can barely call it black. A tiny hole can also be seen on the collar area. She gets what Tzuyu wanted to say, but she liked the shirt too much.

Before she could blast her rebuttal, Tzuyu scowled at her. “I’m not a giant. Is it my fault you look like a fucking midget to me? I could nearly step on you!”

She scoffed. “And I can’t feel you sometimes because you hardly talk! I feel like I’m with a plant when we go out and eat!”

“At least I don’t chew so loud?!”

Chaeyoung’s patience ran out. “I don’t like you being so arrogant! I don’t like you being so blunt! I don’t like your miniskirt! I don’t like you!”

Silence followed.

Their breathing and air conditioner were the only thing can be heard in the room after shouting profanities here and there. Chaeyoung doesn’t really like forcing herself to do things she doesn’t like, just like Tzuyu forcing her to throw—or burn, in her terms—the black shirt.

And it baffles her that whenever they fight, Tzuyu’s voice raises an octave but cannot do so whenever they’re having a date. She’s almost near in thinking that Tzuyu only wanted to fight even the pettiest things.

As for the insults thrown at each other, both of them were used to it. Although Chaeyoung might be lying if she says it doesn’t hurt her one bit. They’re may be true though, but it came from Tzuyu, her girlfriend. Of course, it matters. It matters in every way there is.

“If you don’t like me,” Tzuyu slumped on her previous seat, with hot tears streaming on her cheeks. “Why did you ask me to be your girlfriend 3 years ago?”

If she didn’t cry, Chaeyoung might say that after their fights, Tzuyu going silent was her favorite part. But tonight was kind of different. She stopped on her tracks seeing the other girl wiping her tears aggressively using her sleeves, which she doesn’t do normally. For a moment, she wanted to take her words back.

“Tzuyu...”

Tzuyu whipped her head towards Chaeyoung’s direction. For the nth time that night, Chaeyoung took a step back when she saw hatred in her girlfriend’s eyes. “I’m tired of you, Chaeyoung.”

In that moment, the guilt from her chest evaporated immediately and replaced with familiar anger building up inside her.

“Don’t you think I’m tired as well, Tzuyu? You keep on pushing my buttons and have the audacity after to yell at me. Almost every waking day of our lives we fight even with the most trivial things. We shout profanities at each other! We insult each other!” She sighed; defeat was evident on her face. “I am tired of you as well, Tzuyu!”

“Then let's break up and get the hell out of my house!”

“You don’t get to tell me what do! And I’ll see myself out without you telling me!”

Chaeyoung grabbed her things and stormed out of the room. When she slammed the door behind her, she heard something broke inside. The urge to go back was there, but she held herself back.

How many break ups have they had for the last years of being together? She can’t quiet remember including the causes of petty fights. Was it because she was late in their last movie date and ended up not watching at all? Was it because Tzuyu ordered a pizza she never liked but ordered still anyway? Was it because of their harsh words? Or maybe just because of her girlfriend’s miniskirt and her black shirt?

Or maybe, their relationship as a whole was the shit itself?

It irritates the hell out of her whenever she thought of counting how many fights they had for the last three years. Sometimes, she thinks that maybe they're not just compatible enough.

She fished out her phone in her pocket and called someone. It was already 12 midnight but she knew she was still awake.

“Hey.” The person on the other line answered after the fifth ring.

“Dahyun,” she wanted to get straight to the point before doing something she’ll regret after. “Are you busy? Let’s drink.”

Muffled noises were heard on the other line before Dahyun spoke. “What? Isn’t midnight already?”

“That’s why we’re gonna drink!”

“Did you guys fight again?”

She didn’t answer.

“Alright, bro. See you in a few.”

Dahyun and Chaeyoung met at a local bar few minutes away from their current location. As usual, the bubbly girl was wearing a hoodie, checkered pants, and her red slides. She doesn’t really like drinking, that’s why whenever Chaeyoung calls her ‘to drink’, it just basically means they fought again.

All along, Dahyun was all ears to Chaeyoung who never missed a beat in voicing out her anger. They were friends for years, even before they met Tzuyu. Of all people, Dahyun should know to never interrupt Chaeyoung whenever she rants.

“I don’t understand why we fight all the damn time.” Chaeyoung threw herself back in her seat, with head looked up to the ceiling. No, she wasn’t crying. More like she’s trying to contain herself from flipping the table over.

Dahyun took a sip in her orange juice before answering. “Fights are part of a relationship, you should know that.”

“Of course I know. But we’re different,” she bowed down her head, as if the answers were written on the ground. “It’s like the arguments are endless. We’re more than complicated.”

The blonde girl nodded her head.

“Why can’t we be mature just like you and Sana?”

Dahyun and Sana have been together for 7 years, but a year ago, they became engaged. Chaeyoung can definitely say that their relationship has been smooth-sailing ever since. Dahyun was the calmest person Chaeyoung has ever known, so if they fight, her blonde friend will just sighed and talked their way out of it.

On the other hand, Sana was a common friend they met through her sister Jeongyeon’s friends, Mina and Momo. It was her birthday when her sister brought her Japanese friends for the first time, together with a new transferee—apparently Japanese as well—block mate which was Sana.

It was Dahyun and Sana who got a long first really well, and it didn’t surprise them when they announced they were exclusively dating.

She was jealous of Dahyun’s relationship with her fiancée.

From her point of view, Dahyun and Sana’s relationship is a whole lot different from what she has with Tzuyu.

Chaeyoung and Tzuyu met on the first day of their freshman years in college. She was sitting in the back part of the classroom, and Tzuyu sat beside her. Since Tzuyu was a foreigner, it was Chaeyoung who taught her how things work. She helped her learning Korean language and culture. She helped her with their subjects. She helped her cope up in a different country.

Chaeyoung was Tzuyu’s first friend. And from there, the rest was history.

Now, they’re on their fourth year anniversary a week from now, if they didn’t break earlier.

If Dahyun was calm, Chaeyoung will probably bite a finger off Tzuyu’s hands whenever the taller girl points at her when they fight. If Sana was the one who usually lowers her pride and the sweetest human she had ever known, Tzuyu will probably stab her with piercing stares and spew fire at her right there and then.

Almost four years of fighting. Almost four years of insulting each other. Almost four years of on and off relationship.

She didn’t know where it went wrong.

If someone flirts with Tzuyu, Chaeyoung will get mad.

If someone flirts with Chaeyoung, Tzuyu will get mad.

Tzuyu’s mistake, Chaeyoung will get mad.

Chaeyoung’s mistake, Tzuyu will get mad.

A little misunderstanding, they will break it off.

A little fight, they will break it off.

That was what’s been going on for four years.

Everything’s getting repetitive. Similarly like a carousel. It goes round and round, running in circles. The thing is, it doesn’t necessarily stop in her own accordance. And while waiting for it, she’s been thinking twice to force it to stop or stay because she’s with Tzuyu anyway.

It’s a cycle Chaeyoung never liked waking up into. So maybe, it really is the time to stop. To drop everything and take a rest.

She was about to consult Dahyun if her decision was right, when her friend told her something that shook her to the core.

“Sana cheated on me.”

What the hell?

“When? With who?”

“Im Nayeon’s the name. Some other girl she met at work,” she fell silent for a while, “can you believe it? She cheated on me with someone named Im Nayeon?”

Surprised, Chaeyoung cannot bring herself to say something to comfort Dahyun. She just observed her blonde friend took her own bottle of beer and drank it half empty in front of her.

“We’re engaged and she cheated on me.”

Her best friend for years, Dahyun, has been the ray of sunshine wherever she goes. And when Sana came into her life, Dahyun was never seen sad and gloomy after. They were happy and in love. But seeing her right now, it was something Chaeyoung never expected.

Chaeyoung’s eyes wandered to Dahyun’s features, trying to make up what she feels for the situation she was in right now. Suddenly, she felt her chest tightened at the sight of her best friend’s eyes almost glistened with tears.

No words were uttered for the first few minutes after Dahyun dropping the news. Chaeyoung came into a realization that her problems with Tzuyu were absolutely nothing compared to Dahyun’s.

She felt small. She felt ashamed. What were they fighting about again? About her being late to their movie date? About Tzuyu’s choice of pizza flavour? About her black shirt? About Tzuyu’s miniskirt?

Fuck.

“What do you plan to do?” Chaeyoung carefully asked, still trying to assess the situation and Dahyun’s feelings.

“I’ll be lying if I say I didn’t think of breaking up with her, of breaking the engagement because it hurt so much. I even imagined my life without her. Guess what? Chaeyoung, I can’t. I can’t live without her.” She sarcastically laughed.

Chaeyoung reached out to hold Dahyun’s hand before calling her name. The blonde girl continued. “Maybe that’s just what love is. You’ll forgive the person whatever mistake she committed because... you just love them.”

They were friends for years. She’s been with Dahyun and she knows the right things to tell her, but not this time around.

Dahyun stood up which made Chaeyoung do the same. “Let’s go home. Sana might get worried.”

It was past 1 AM when they decided to go call it a night. None of them were tipsy enough not to drive. Before parting ways, Dahyun reminded her of the gown fitting next week.

“Bro...” Chaeyoung called, but decided not to go against her best friend’s decisions, “alright. See you next week.”

“You going straight at home?” Dahyun asked as she was opening her car door.

“Tzuyu’s.” Chaeyoung sighed. “Gotta settle things first.”

On the way to Chou’s residence, Chaeyoung fell into deep thinking. She knew she wasn’t in the position to give advice or even go against her best friend’s decision. Heck, she’s stuck to a four year old relationship who did nothing but to fight for the most petty things under the sun.

It actually looked like they were riding a carousel. They just go run in circles, an endless journey where they fight, then make up after only to shout profanities at each other again. Chaeyoung was getting tired of their carousel set up, but she found herself again in front of Chou’s residence.

She let out a heavy sigh, not quiet sure where to start. Her hand fished out her phone from her pocket and called Tzuyu.

“Where are you?” Tzuyu didn’t even greet her hello and immediately asked where she was. Chaeyoung scratched her eyebrow.

“Hey, I’m at your doorstep.” She carefully said. In a split second, she heard Tzuyu muttered some curses, like she didn’t want her girlfriend to hear it. “I just wanted to apologize...”

“Go home, Chaeng.”

“No, I wanted to talk.”

“Please, go home Chaeng.” Tzuyu said, this time, with finality in her voice.

“But Tzuyu—“

“Go home!” Tzuyu shouted, “I’m not at home.”

“What? Where are you?” Chaeyoung asked, a little bit panicking.

Few seconds passed.

“I’m in front of your doorstep.” Tzuyu said in a low soft voice.

Dead silence. Both of them stopped breathing for a second until Chaeyoung broke out in laughter. Tzuyu laughed afterwards, which filled Chaeyoung’s ears and her heart just melted.

“Chaeyoung...”

“Tzuyu...” They both mentioned their partners’ name at the same time.

There are times when Chaeyoung barely understands Tzuyu because of her hard to deal with moments, when Tzuyu was getting out of hand due to her smart mouth, when Tzuyu was getting unreasonable for certain things. She was bothered and annoyed, but Chaeyoung was more than sure that Dahyun was right: you forgive people because you love them.

“I’m sorry...” Chaeyoung started.

“I’m sorry too...” Tzuyu responded.

Their relationship as a whole was indeed a messy carousel ride. But Chaeyoung never wanted to get off simple because she’s with Tzuyu. And that’s more than enough for her.

“I didn’t mean anything I said. I was wrong.”

“Same here. Even if you chew so loud—“

“Tzuyu please—“

She laughed on the other line. Tzuyu’s laugh was so contagious and Chaeyoung thinks she can brighten up the whole town.

“Okay,” she sighed. "Whatever, but I’d still want to have my last meal of everyday to be with you.”

Chaeyoung beamed. “And I don’t care if you look like a giant. I’d still stand by your side all the time.”

Tzuyu’s soft ‘aww’ made Chaeyoung want to see and hug her immediately. She continued. “By the way, that skirt looked good on you, to be honest.”

“But you need to get rid of your black shirt, it’s too worn out.”

It’s Chaeyoung’s turn to laugh. “Alright. But you need to buy me another.”

They laughed again. Like they didn’t fight earlier. Like everything’s alright now. Like it was just the two of them.

“Are you going home?” Chaeyoung asked in a serious tone.

“You better be there when I get home.”

She snickered. “I’ll wait for you here.”

Soft laughters and faint footsteps were heard on the other line. Seconds passed. Chaeyoung leaned against the side of Tzuyu’s apartment door, waiting for her with smile on her face and phone against her left ear. “Tzuyu?”

“Yup?”

“I may hate you for our fights, but I love you still.”

“I know.”

The laughter with love they shared continued to go round and round. They may bicker for the most nonsense things, but the love and admiration were still there for the most part.

And Chaeyoung was particular in staying in their own version of carousel.

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing fluff after years. Thank you for reading! :)
> 
> \-- @dearestwice on twt


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